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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Want to hear a good love story? After losing his wife to cancer, a gentleman attended a wedding. A friend made sure to sit him next to a fascinating woman, hoping her conversational skills would help him through the night. Dinner and one dance later, he was smitten. He proposed six weeks later, and they married a mere four months after that first night!

The fun part? They met at my SIL's wedding, I know both the bride and groom, they're grandparents to teenagers, and their love has taken 10+ years off of them. I have honestly never seen two people so in love! I was touched to be invited to their wedding last weekend :)

My husband's family hosted a dinner for 50 the night before the wedding, and they asked me to do the desserts! Over the next few days, I'll share what I made.

First up, raspberry lemonade cupcakes!

I know you won't believe it, but these were actually pretty darn easy. I'm not a great baker, so I like to start with a box mix and get creative from there. My scratch cakes tend to be disasters!

Ingredients:

1 box lemon cake mix

Eggs (do what it says on the box)

Oil (do what it says on the box)

Water (do what it says on the box)

1 T lemon extract

1 c unsalted butter (2 sticks)

3 c confectioners sugar

2 T milk

1 T raspberry extract

4 drops red food coloring

1 small box fresh raspberries

Icing bag

1M star tip

Method:

Mix together the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water just like it says on the box.

Add lemon extract and mix into batter

Fill cups and bake cupcakes exactly like it says on the box

Let them cool

Cream butter, milk, raspberry extract, and food coloring

Add confectioners sugar and whip until smooth

Add more sugar or milk if needed to get desired consistency

Using a large star tip on an icing bag, make swirls on top of cupcakes (I go from the outer edge to the center)

Top with a fresh raspberry

Serve on a pretty tray with a pretty label (it's all about the presentation!)

This recipe made about 12 regular and 24 mini cupcakes, and took about an hour of time in total (but I had to wash lots of dishes in between).

Aren't these beautiful? The mini cupcakes were a huge hit! Since I had three flavors of cupcakes, folks wanted to try them all, but not in full size. That, and the frosting-to-cake ratio is much better on mini cupcakes.